The rise of the veggie burger

Not too long ago, you might see the occasional veggie burger on
a menu as a half-hearted attempt to appease vegetarians in an
establishment that was heavy on the meat offerings. Usually there
wasn't much thought put into the patty; it was likely a frozen
commercial product. These days chefs are not only revisiting the
veggie burger, they are reinventing it.

You know the veggie burger is being taken seriously when Daniel Humm,
chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant Eleven Madison Park in
Manhattan, puts on on the menu at his nearby NoMad Bar. Humm uses
grains, fresh vegetables, quinoa and lentils as the "meat" of the
patty, which is held together with eggs, cream cheese and Dijon
mustard. "We wanted this to be able to stand next to our beef
burger and our chicken burger, not be a dish we just put on the
menu for the sake of it," he says.

Other NYC chefs are following suit. Former Del Posto pastry chef
Brooks
Headley has built an entire restaurant around his veggie
burger, "which is arguably the most acclaimed burger of any kind in
New York in the last few years," according to the NYT, which
awarded the restaurant
two stars. While the article focuses on New York's veggie
burger scene, there has also been an increase in veggie burgers in
the EYB Library from cookbooks, blogs, and websites. Here are some
new additions plus a few Member favorites: